Friday, June 29, 2012

Not Supposed To Happen

It's been a tough week. I know everyone goes through tough weeks too, and I'm certainly not special. In fact, I think I'm quite ordinary. But this week was very different in my routine, ordinary world.

One week ago today a sixteen year old boy died in a tragic car accident. But his death hit far closer to home than the ones we see on the evening news and so quickly dismiss. I knew this boy...and his parents...and his sisters...and his Aunt and Uncle and cousins. I knew his teammates and friends because he was a hockey player with my son. The hockey family is a very close, very tight, very loyal community.

This week was not ordinary or routine at all.

I went to the candlelight vigil the night after he passed away with so many others. I went to the calling hours with so many others as well. And I went to his funeral filled with hockey jerseys, hockey families, friends and relatives...and I watched my son give an amazing speech and then sit at the piano and play Hallelujah for his friend and teammate.

However difficult this has been for me, it pales in comparison to what his incredible family is going through. They are good people, who didn't deserve this terrible turn of events in their lives. There are no words to explain why...but rather there is only the opportunity for us to support one another and hold our faith close.

I can't read this without being overwhelmed by deep sadness. Having kids myself, both very active in sports and all around great kids. I'm reminded of an incident in a nearby city a few years ago. A 10yo boy was playing shinny (hockey) outdoors and was hit in the head with a puck. He died shortly afterwards. It hit the community very hard.

I can't even imagine what the family is going through. We often forget the other side...how awful it must be for the kid that shot the puck...for his parents also.

This kind of tragedy has such a ripple effect...we often don't realize the wide spread effect.

Thank you for sharing this, Jay. Having experienced a lot of loss of young life myself this year, I understand. So often, we push through and lose sight of people's grief and pain. There's "no excuse" for that.

My prayers are with your family and the family of this young man. If you need anything, please let me know. Seriously.